Dump truck for concrete and the like



May 15, 1951 c. GRAY DUMP TRUCK FoR CONCRETE AND THE LIRE 5 Sheets-Sheet3 Filed Aug. 6, 1947 f IN V EN TOR. l C35/Ec E/c/f ATTO/WYE?? May 15,1951 `C, GRAY l 2,552,850'

DUMP TRUCK FOR CONCRETE AND THE vLIKE Filed Aug. 6, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet4 IN VEN TOR.

May l5, 1951 c. GRAY DUMP TRUCK RoR CONCRETE `AND TRE LIKE 5Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. 6, 1947 Patented May 15, 1951 DUMP TRUCK FORCONCRETE AND THE LIKE Ghesleigh Gray Indianapolis, Ind.; Mary Edna Grayexecutrix` f said Chesleigh Gray, deceased Application Auguste, 1947,Serial No. 766,573

Claims.

The business of supplying ready-mixed concrete for use 0n the job hasbeen increasingr in volume continuously for the past several years; Itis customary to bring together the ingredients of concrete in suitable`proportions: and to mix the ingredients, at Ieasti partially, at largecentral plants, and then to: charge suitable quantities into speciallyconstructed trucks and, to carry the concrete to the job.` Until. veryrecently, it has been essential to continue'` agitation of the concreteduring transit from the` central plant to the point of use` in order toprevent separation of the ingredients, since transit, in ncn-agitatingtruck bodies, has invariably resulting in settling oi'. the aggregates,and.. in travel of the water to the` surfacefof' the mass of concrete ina truck;

Quite recently, research and experimentation has resulted in methods ofentraining air in green concrete through the. use of suitable agentswhich can be controlled and which are found to have quite satisfactory'results. The reason for developing the air-entrained process lies. inthe fact that it was discovered' that, when air to the amountY of' threeper cent ori less is thus entrained in the green concrete, the concrete,after setting has improved resistance to cycles of freezing and thawing,while` its flexural and compressive strengths are: not'` appreciablyaffected.

It has been found that, when green concrete is thus provided withentrained air, the coarse aggregate is much more satisfactorily retainedin suspension over substantial periods. I havey found that greenconcrete with. entrainedair', fully mixed at the centralv plant, can be:transported in non-agitatingi vehicles without sub-v stantialsegregation of aggregates. Itis obvious that, if fully mixed concretecan be transported in non-agitating vehicle bodies, lighter vehicleconstructions can be used: for delivering mixedz concrete to the job,and. power delivery means for effecting agitationv during; transit canbe eliminated.

However, veryl special; body construction is necessary if mixed concreteis to be transported without agitation, in order' to guard againststicking, undue compaction of the concrete, and similar difficulties. Itis: essential, for instance, to provide a structure in which a.relatively small discharge port may be sealed, during transit, againstwater escape.. It is essential that the walls of the body shall convergeupon the discharge porti at an angle greater than the angle of reposeoil? wet concrete. It is essential that there shall be. no sharp cornersin 2 which concrete might wedge.r and stick. Itis highly desirable thatthe body construction shall be such that a very high per cent of the'`load can be discharged through that port without tilting the body, inorder thatl it may' not be necessary' to provide hoist equipmentsufficiently powerful to liftA a substantial proportion of the concreteload". It is highly desirable that the construction shall be such thatthe entire load can be discharged' without the use of any mechanicalmeans for forcing the concrete to flow from, the body. It is' desirableto providemeans whereby the direction of now of` the concrete is variedat least once; and preferably twice; as it moves toward the dischargeport, thus tending` to remix the concrete; It is desirable to providemeans whereby the dischargeport may be partially or fully opened tocontrol the rate of flow of concrete from thel body. It: is alsodesirable to, equip the vehicleY with a chute capable: of swingingthrough a widey arc about a vertical axis, and capable, also, ofsomemovement oi"v its discharge end in aV vertical plane; while concreteis flowing therethrough. It is also desirable to make it possible toremove. the chute entirely from` registry with the' discharge port, inorder that'v concrete maybe delivered directly from the body to a pointla maximunr distance above the ground level. ltv is further desirable toprovide means whereby thef chute may be carried, during transit, in aposition safely out of the way.

The primary object of the present invention. then, is to provide atruck* body particularly adapted for transporting mixed concrete from acentral plant, without` mechanical agitation of the concrete duringtransit, and fordelivering` the concrete under optimum conditions at'the point of use. Further objects have` to do with the provision of theabove-outlined desiderata and will appear in detail as the descriptionproceeds.

To the accomplishment of the aboveA and related objects, my inventionmay be embodied in the form illustrated inthe accompanying' drawings,attention being called to theV fact, however, that the drawings areillustrative only, andl that change may be made in the specific.construction illustrated and described, so longv as the scope of theappended claims is; not: violated.

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of adump body constructed in accordancewithfthe present invert-- tion and mounted' upon a truck of standardcon-1 struction, shownin fragmental elevation;v

Fig: 2-` is a top plan view thereof;

view of one of the hinge assemblies through showing a hopper and chuteassembly forming apart of the present invention;

Fig. is a section taken substantially on the line |0-I0 of Fig. 9;

.. Fig; 11 is a fragmental longitudinal section taken upon a planeparallel with the plane of Fig. 9 and upon an enlarged scale;

Fig. 12 is an enlarged plan view of the hopper, the chute having Vbeenremoved, parts being broken away for clarity of illustration; and

Fig. 13 is a fragmental perspective view, upon an enlarged scale, of thehinging and supporting means for the chute.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, it will be seen that I haveillustrated, more or less diagrammatically, a truck chassis, indicatedgenerally bythe reference numeral 20, and a dump body indicatedgenerally by the reference numeral 2|. Inclined pillars 22 upon thechassis 20 are formed to provide parallel upstanding bearing plates 23and 24 which support a journal Vsleeve 25. body 2| is provided with arearwardly projecting housing 26 having side plates 21 and 28supporting, respectively, journal sleeves 29 and 30 which are adapted tobe brought into registry with the For each such hinge assembly, the

sleeve 25. A hinge pin 3| is driven through each assembly of hingesleeves, and a cotter pin 32, or the like, is passed through registeringapertures in the sleeve 29 and the pin 3| to complete the hingeassembly. Spacer plates 33 and 34 will preferably be arranged in themanner clearly illustrated in Fig. 8.

Each body'hinge assembly includes a foot 35 secured to a bed 36 uponVwhich the `body 2| is .suitably secured, and adapted to rest upon thetruck bed 31 in the manner clearly illustrated in Fig.l 1. A fluid motor3B has one end anchored at 39 upon the truck chassis and its other endanchored at 49 upon Ythe body 2| in such a fashion that, when fiuid issupplied to the motor, itsends' will be separated to swing the body 2|about the axis of the hinge pins 3| and into the position illustrated indotted lines in Fig. l.

' rlhe'rbody comprises end walls 4| and 42, and sidewalls 43 and 44,said end walls preferably being substantially vertical and the sidewalls i 4 is clearly to be seen from an inspection of Fig. 2. The walls43 and 44 are primarily disposed in planes inclined to the body floor atequal obtuse angles less than the angle of repose of wet concrete,being, in the present illustrations, approximately 45; and the end andlateral Walls merge with said floor through curved surfaces similar tothat illustrated at 4|' in Fig. 5.

Extending from Vend to end of the body, Vand Ysuspended above the bottomthereof, is a baiiie -indicated generally by the reference numeral 59,

and comprising a beam, which may be hollow vand whose transverse sectioncomprises two isosceles triangles having a common horizontal base.Theupwardly presented walls 5| and V52 of the baille` converge upwardlyto a sharp edge 53, while (the lower walls 54 and 55 converge downwardlyto a sharp edge 56. The maximum transverse dimension of the ybeam 55 issubstantially equal to,' or may preferably 'somewhat exceed, thetransverse dimension of the floor or bottom ofthe body. Because of theprovision of the baille 59, undue compaction of concrete against thefloor of the body is obviated, since the beam supports 'a substantialproportion of the weight of the column of concrete directly above thefloor, so Vthat the only weight impressed upon the door itself is thatmade up of the vertical component of the converging portionsof thecolumn resting upon the walls 43 and 44.

' As is clearly to be seenin Figs. 1, 4, and 5, a dischargeV passage 51projects rearwardly Vfrom the rear end wall 4| ofthe body in a planecoincident with the oor of said body. Said passage terminates in a.discharge port 58 Whose mouth is curved about a horizontal axis in themanner to be Yseen in Figs. 4 and 5. A gate 59 is correspondingly curvedfor cooperation with the mouth of the spout51` and issupported upon arms5B and 6| projecting from its lateral edges, the free ends of said arms`vbeing supported upon oppositely projecting, aligned trunnions 62 and53 mounted on the spout 51. As'shown, particularly in Fig. 5, each sucharm is provided with a slot 64 elongated in a line normal to the facingsurface of the gate 59. Itwill be clear that this construction permitsoscillation of the gate 59 about an axis coincident with the center ofcurvature of the Y mouth of the spout 51, and also permits bodilycurvature.

derstood that, when the mouth 58 of the spout 51 is to be sealed, thegate 59 is pressed thereagainst with sufficient force to'deform therubber 65,' thereby providing a waterproof closure.

I' prefer to provide the gate 59 with a curved rack 66 for cooperationwith a pinion 61 mounted upon a shaft 58 journalled in a shield orbracket B9 suitably supported upon the wall 4| of the body 2|. A handle19 may'bemounted on the shaft 68 for operation of the pinion 61, toswing the gate 59 about the axis of the trunnions 62 and 63.

' AY yoke, indicated generally by the reference numeral 1|, comprisesparallel arms 12 and 13 journal mounted, respectively, on the trunnions62 and 63, and joined by a stretcher 14 in which is journalled a screwshaft 15, said shaft being rotatable with respect to, but held againstaxial movement with respect to, said stretcher 14. As is shown in Fig.6, the shaft 15 has threaded engagement with a bracket 16 fixed to thegate 59;

and?. IlaIidWhecl 11 is secured to said screw shaft.

zgtaagsno Stops 13T, xedlry" projecting; from' atleast one of the arms60 and 6|-, straddle the associatedV yoke arms 12 and/or 13 to assist inoperatively connecting the gate 59 and yoke 1|. Obviously, rotation ofthe handwheel 11 inV one direction will pull the gate 59 toward thestretcher 14 to clear the mouth 58 of the spout 51. Concurrently, therack et' is moved to meshing engagement with the pinion 61. Now,operation of the handle '.19- in one direction or the other will swingthe gate 59 about the axis of the trunnions 62 and 63,.in one directionor the other. When the gate has been brought to desired position, thehandwheel 11 will be turned in the opposite direction, thereby pushingthe gate 59, upon. a` line radial` with respect to the curvatures of.said gate and the spout mouth, to press the rubber surface of the gateinto contact with. said spout mouth. Obviously, the gate may be stoppedin completely overlapping relation with the spout mouth, or it may bestopped in a position clearing any desired proportion of the spout mouthand, through operation of the handwheel 11., may be pressed into sealingrelation with the mouthA of the spout in any selected position.

suitably supported upon the chassis and projecting rearwardly therefromis a platform 1.9'` (see Figs. 1, 9 and l1), said platform being bracedby a pair of tie rods 89 extending between the outer end of saidplatform and the pillars 2v2. A cylindrical post 8|, having a iiange 82welded to its lower end, is projected through an` opening in4 saidplatform andr is secured thereto by bolts 03, or other suitablefastening means, cooperating with the ange 82. The upper end of saidpost i-s closed by a block 84, and a cylindrical sleeve 85 is supportedthereon. Near its lower end, the sleeve is formed with a peripheralflange 86, and a larger peripheral ange 81 is welded to said sleeveadjacent its-upper end. A plate 88 is secured to said flange 81 by meansof bolts 89 or other equivalent fastening meansr said` plate restingupon the flange 81, the block 84,. and the upper end of the post 8 Ablock 90 is supported upon the platform: 19 adjacent the sleeve 85 andcarries a :finger 9 IY overlying the flange 86 toV prevent aceidentalupward movement of said sleeve r85. The block 90 further carries a thumbscrew 92 which may be turned up against the flange 86 (whose peripheralsurface may, it desired, be roughened) to hold the sleeve 85 in anydesired position of rotational adjustment about the axis of the post 8I. l

A grease fitting 93 may be associated with an opening through the` plate88 which opening registers with intersecting grooves 94 in the lowerface of the plate 88,. said grooves being proportioned` and designedtocarry grease-from the iitting 93 into the space between the externalperiphery of the post 8| and the internal periphery of the sleeve 85.

The plate 83I carries a pair of upstanding side plates Q5 between whichis supported a4 hopper,

indicated generally by the reference numeral 95,V

and formed to provide converging walls 91. The hopper 961 is disposedbeneath', and in registering association with, the body discharge port58, and the converging walls 91 are designed to direct material owingfrom said port 58 onto a downwardly and rearwardly inclined wall 98, andso to the discharge mouth 99 of the hopper 95. A` plate |00 is Xed tosaid bottom wall 98% and is formed with an aperture adapted' to receivethe projecting end of the plate 88 and to be welded thereto.vImmediately belowthe plate |00f,.a stop strap |0 I is fixed to theywall 98 in the manner clearly shown in Fig. 11.

A bracket |02 projects horizontally rearwardly from the upper wall ofthe hopper spout and is formed to. provide a pair of aligned apertures|03 in which is x'ed a guide tube |25 for the reception of a hingepintle |04 whereby a discharge chute, indicated generally by thereference numeral |05, may be hinged to said bracket |02. rl`he pintle|04 passes through aligned openings in a bracket |08, comprising a partof the chute |55, and suitably braced by bars |01' at opposite sides ofthe chute. At a point suitably spaced from the pintle IM, the bars |01are formed with aligned apertures |98 for a purpose later to bedescribed.

The chute proper may comprise a body |09 of sheet metal, bent toU-shape, as is clearly illustrated in Fig. 10. At its end adjacent thespout 99, the bottom wall of the chute is formed with an inclinedextension I9 (Fig. 1l) for a purpose Which will later appear, and thechute is provided, adjacent the rearward end of said extension, withaligned apertures I I I.

The parts thus described are so proportioned and designed that, when thechute is permitted to swing, by gravity, into the position illustratedin' Fig. 9, the rearward end o the extension IIO will abut thedownwardly presented edge of the stop strap |0I, whereby the chute willbe held against further counter-clockwise movement about the pintle |04.A pair of segment plates I|2 are supported upon the bracket |02 and areprovided with spaced aligned apertures I I3, I|4 and ||5. When the chuteis in the position of Fig. 9, the openings |53 in theV braces |01register with the openings I l5 in the plates I I2, and a locking bar Ii1 may, if desired, be passed through the aligned apertures to hold thechute positively in such position.

If it is desired to deliver concrete at a slightly higher elevation, theouter end of the chute |05 may be lifted, by grasping the handle bar|2I, to bring the openings i052 into alignment with the apertures I I4in the plates I i2. These apertures are joined by a fixed guide tube|21. The bar I I1 may now be passed through the aligned apertures tohold the chute in the new position. It will be seen that, in thatposition, the extension I I0 still underlies the bottom wall of thespout 99; and that, if the chute be adjusted to a still higher position,in which the bar |I'I may be passed through the openings |08 and theapertures I i3, the extension I I0 will still underlie the extreme endof the hopper spout.

Since the chute is carried upon the bracket |02 which, in turn, iscarried upon the hopper `96, it will be clear that the chute may beswung through a wide angle about the axis of the post 8| by rotationaladjustment of the sleeve 85 upon the said post. The construction is such(see Fig. 2) that an adjustment somewhat in excess of may be achieved.

It may be desirable, at times, to deliver concrete' directly from thehopper spout to a form whose height may be above the highest position ofoperational adjustment of the delivery endv of the chutev |95. Undersuch circumstances, the chute' may be swung to the dot-dash lineposition of Fig. l, wherein the openings IH' in the chute |05 registerwith apertures iM and guide tube` |21. The chute may, of course, be heldin this position by passing the bar IIT through the registeringopening-s; lin this position, the inner' end; of the chute: is heldentirely out of` the way 'of the hopper discharge spout, and yet the.position of the chute is such as not to interfere with the dumpingposition ofthe body 2|, illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

VThe transit position of the, chute is illustrated in Fig. 1 in dottedlines, and in solid lines in Fig. 11. VIn this position, the openingsVin the chute body |09 register with the openings |16 in the bracket |02,which are preferably joined by a guide tube |26, and the bar lil ispassed through said registering openings and said tube. In order toinsure positively against dislodgement of the bar in this position, saidbar may be provided with a handle H8 having an angular .projection ||9,and the chute body may be provided with a hook |20 with which the handleI8 may be engaged, in the manner illustrated in Fig. 13, when the chuteis in its transit position.

In order to facilitate movement of the chute to and from its transitposition, the chute will preierably be provided with a second handlebar|22.

As is clearly shown in Figs. and 6, a stop block |23 projects outwardlyfrom at least one wall of the body spout 51 for engagement by a stopblock |24 projecting inwardly from the gate arm 60 to limit downwardmovement of the gate 59.

VI claim as my invention:

l. A body for a dump truck having lateral walls converging toward thebottom of said body and inclined to said bottom at obtuse angles lessthan the angle of repose of wet concrete, a discharge -port near saidbottom at one end of said body, a gateY for said port, and a baillestationarily mounted in said body above the bottom thereof andsubstantially coextensive with said bottom.

2. The body of claim 1 in which the upwardlydirected surface of saidbaille comprises two downwardly diverging walls meeting at their upperedges, substantially in the vertical plane containing the longitudinalmedian line of the bottom of said body.

3. A body for a dump truck having an elongated, laterally narrow,horizontal bottom flanked by lateral walls upwardly diverging andinclined to said bottom at obtuse angles less than the angle of reposeof wet concrete, end walls meeting said bottom and said lateral walls incurved surfaces, and baille means extending between said end walls andsustaining a portion of the weight of material filled into said body.

4. The body of claim 3 in which said baiile means comprises a beampresenting a pair of upwardly and outwardly presented faces anda pair ofdownwardly and outwardly presented faces.

5. The body of claim 4 in which each pair of faces converges in a linelocated substantially in the vertical .plane including the longitudinalmedian line of said bottom.

6. TheV body of claim 3 in which said bailie means comprises a beamwhose transverse section presents two isosceles triangles having acommon horizontal base and having their apices oppositely directed.

7. A body for a dump truck having an elongated, laterally narrow bottom,end walls meeting said bottom in curved surfaces, side walls flaringoppositely upwardly from said bottom and curving upwardly and inwardlyfrom theirlaterally-most-remote levels, said side walls meeting said endwalls and bottom in curved surfaces, and the upper edges of said sidewalls being spaced apart substantially throughout their lengths toprovide a lling opening for said body substantially. longitudinallycoextensive with said body,

and baille means disposed within said'body between such lling openingand said bottom.

8. A body for a dump truck having lateral walls converging toward thebottom of said body at angles exceeding the angle of repose of wetconcrete, a discharge port near said bottom at one end of said body, anda gate for said port comprising a curved closure, arms at the lateralends of said closure, trunnions associated with said arms and supportingthe same, a rack i'lxedly associated with said closure, and apinionmeshing with said rack -for shifting said closure about the axisof said trunnions relative to said port.

9. The organization of claim 8 in which said arms are associated withsaid trunnions through slots in said arms radial with respect to saidclosure, and including means associated with said closure for shiftingYthe same positively in theV line of said slots.

10. In a dump body having a discharge spout, gate means for said spoutcomprising a pair of aligned trunnions projecting oppositely fromopposite sides of said spout, a curved closure for said spout, a pair ofarms at the lateral ends of said closure for supporting the same, eacharm having a slot therein elongated in a line normal to said closure,each slot fitting on one of said trunnions, means for swinging saidclosure about the axis of said trunnions, and means for positivelyshifting said Vclosure in the line of said slots.

11. The organization of claim 10 in which said last-named means is`effective to shift said closure positively in either of two oppositedirections in the line of said slots.

12. The organization of claim 10 in which said last-named meanscomprises' a yoke oscilla/bly supported on said trunnions for swingingmovement with said closure and a screw journalled in said yoke on anaxis parallel with said slots and held against axial movement relativeto said yoke, said screw Ibeing threadedly associated with said closure.

13. The organization of ,claim 12 inA which said closure is providedwith a yielding surface facing the discharge end vof said spout. p

14. In a dump truck body having a discharge port and gate meanstherefor, a platform disposed beneath said port, a cylindrical postvertically supported upon said platform, a cylindrical sleevejournal-mounted on said post, means on said platform restraining saidsleeve against vertical movement relative thereto, and 'a hoppersupported on said sleeve in registry with said port.

15. The organization of claim 14 in which said Vhopper is provided witha downwardly inclined discharge spout, and including a chute supportedfor swinging movement about a horizontal axis above said spout. v

CHESLEIGH GRAY.

REFERENCES CITED The following Yreferences are of recordV in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

